Skip directly to site content Skip directly to search


Español  Other Languages


Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC twenty four seven. Saving Lives, Protecting People
 Search

		Submit


Smoking & Tobacco Use


Section Navigation
			
			CDC Home








Costs and Expenditures										Related Pages
										pic of money and charts
**Smoking costs the United States billions of dollars each year.1**
Cigarette smoking cost the United States more than $600 billion in 2018, including:
More than $240 billion in healthcare spending,2,3
Nearly $185 billion in lost productivity from smoking-related illnesses and health conditions,3
Nearly $180 billion in lost productivity from smoking-related premature death,3,4
$7 billion in lost productivity from premature death from secondhand smoke exposure.4,5***The tobacco industry spends billions of dollars each year on cigarette and smokeless tobacco advertising and promotions.6,7**
$8.2 billion was spent on advertising and promotion of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco combined—about $22.5 million every day, and nearly $1 million every hour. Smokeless tobacco products include dry snuff, moist snuff, plug/twist, loose-leaf chewing tobacco, snus, and dissolvable products.
Price discounts to retailers account for 74.7% of all cigarette marketing (about $5.7 billion). These are discounts paid in order to reduce the price of cigarettes to consumers.**State spending on tobacco prevention and control does not meet CDC-recommended levels.1,8,9**
States have billions of dollars from the taxes they put on tobacco products and money from lawsuits against cigarette companies that they can use to prevent smoking and help smokers quit. Right now, though, the states only use a very small amount of that money to prevent and control tobacco use.
In fiscal year 2020, states will collect $27.2 billion from tobacco taxes and settlements in court, but will only spend $740 million in the same year. That’s only 2.7% of it spent on programs that can stop young people from becoming smokers and help current smokers quit.8
Right now, not a single state out of 50 funds these programs at CDC’s “recommended” level. Only three states (Alaska, California, and Maine) give even 70% of the full recommended amount. Twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia spend less than 20 percent of what the CDC recommends. One state, Connecticut, gives no state funds for prevention and quit-smoking programs.8
Spending 12% (about $3.3 billion) of the $27.2 billion would fund every state’s tobacco control program at CDC-recommended levels.8ReferencesU.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2014 [accessed 2018 Feb 22].Xu X, Shrestha SS, Trivers KF, Neff L, Armour BS, King BA. U.S. Healthcare Spending Attributable to Cigarette Smoking in 2014. *Preventive Medicine 2021 (150): 106529.* https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2021.106529.
Shrestha SS, Ghimire R, Wang X, Trivers KF, Homa DM, Armour BS. Cost of Cigarette Smoking Attributable Productivity Losses, United States, 2018. Forthcoming at *Am J Prev Med 2022*.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2014. The Health Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress: a Report of the Surgeon General. U.S. Department of Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, Atlanta. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/sgr/50th-anniversary/index.htm.
Max W, Sung HY, Shi Y. Deaths from secondhand smoke exposure in the United States: economic implications. American Journal of Public Health 2012;102(11): 2173–80. doi: 2105/AJPH.2012.300805.
*The $7 billlion number is based on original Max, et al estimate4, updated to 2018 dollars.
U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Federal Trade Smokeless Tobacco Report for 2019 [PDF – 1 MB]. Washington: Federal Trade Commission, 2021 [accessed 2021 Apr 27].
U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Federal Trade Smokeless Tobacco Report for 2019 [PDF – 1MB]. Washington: Federal Trade Commission, 2021 [accessed 2021 Apr 27].
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Broken Promises to Our Children: The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 20 Years Later. Washington: Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, 2018 [accessed 2019 Jan 7].
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs–2014. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2014 [accessed 2018 Feb 22].Top of Page
							
					
							Last Reviewed:  July 28, 2022						Source: 	Office on Smoking and Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
					Facebook
        Twitter
        LinkedIn
        Syndicate homeHomeOffice on Smoking and Health (OSH)plus iconOSH Partners with StatesFunding Opportunity AnnouncementsInteragency Committee on Smoking and Healthplus iconMembership RosterNewsroomStay ConnectedOrganizationSmoking & Tobacco Use FeaturesQuit Smokingplus iconHow to Quitplus iconBenefits of QuittingBasic Informationplus iconHealth Effectsplus iconCancerHeart Disease and StrokeChronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)Smoking During PregnancyEquality in Smoking & Disease: Nobody Wins!Electronic Cigarettesplus iconAbout Electronic Cigarettes (E-Cigarettes)Quick Facts on the Risks of E-cigarettes for Kids, Teens, and Young AdultsEmpower Vape-Free Youth CampaignMenthol Tobacco Productsplus iconState Menthol Fact SheetsMenthol Tobacco Products are a Public Health ProblemMenthol Smoking and Related Health DisparitiesAddressing Menthol Tobacco ProductsHeated Tobacco ProductsYouth Tobacco PreventionCommercial Tobacco and Health Equityplus iconBlack and African American Peopleplus iconHealth BurdenUnfair and Unjust Practices and ConditionsSecondhand SmokeQuitting TobaccoAmerican Indian and Alaska Native Peopleplus iconHealth BurdenUnfair and Unjust Practices and ConditionsSecondhand SmokeQuitting TobaccoAsian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Peopleplus iconHealth BurdenUnfair and Unjust Practices and ConditionsQuitting TobaccoHispanic and Latino Peopleplus iconHealth BurdenUnfair and Unjust Practices and ConditionsSecondhand SmokeQuitting TobaccoLGBTQ+ Peopleplus iconHealth BurdenUnfair and Unjust Practices and ConditionsQuitting TobaccoPeople Across Geographic Regionsplus iconHealth BurdenUnfair and Unjust Practices and ConditionsSecondhand SmokeQuitting TobaccoPeople with Behavioral Health Conditionsplus iconHealth BurdenUnfair and Unjust Practices and ConditionsCommercial Tobacco Product Use and Behavioral Health Conditions can Affect Each OtherQuitting TobaccoPeople with Low Socioeconomic Statusplus iconHealth BurdenUnfair and Unjust Practices and ConditionsSecondhand SmokeQuitting TobaccoSecondhand Smokeplus iconGeneral InformationTrends and DisparitiesHealth ProblemsSecondhand Smoke in the CommunitySecondhand Smoke in the HomeSmokefree PoliciesResourcesGoing Smokefree Mattersplus iconBars and RestaurantsCasinosIn Your HomeMultiunit HousingSurgeon General's Reports on Smoking and Tobacco Useplus icon2020 SGR—Smoking Cessation2016 SGR—E-Cigarette Use Among Youth and Young AdultsHistorical ReportsA Brief HistoryArchiveData and Statisticsplus iconFast Facts and Fact Sheetsplus icon**Smoking and Cigarettes**Diseases and DeathHealth Effects of Cigarette SmokingTobacco-Related MortalityCigarette Smoking in the U.S.Adult DataCessationCost and ExpendituresEconomics**Smokeless Tobacco**Health EffectsProducts and MarketingSmokeless Tobacco Product Use in the United States**Other Tobacco Products**CigarsHookahsLow Yield Cigarettes**Secondhand Smoke****Youth Tobacco Use**Youth DataSmoking in the MoviesTrends in Tobacco Use Among Youth**Tobacco Industry**Tobacco Brand PreferencesIndustry MarketingSurveysplus iconNational Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS)Alaska Native Adult Tobacco Survey Guidance ManualAmerican Indian Adult Tobacco SurveyScientific Evidence BriefsSTATE SystemMorbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports (MMWR)Vital SignsPatient Careplus iconPatient Care Settings and Smoking Cessationplus iconCardiovascular Care SettingsRespiratory Care SettingsCancer Care SettingsMaternal and Infant Care SettingsClinical Interventions to Treat Tobacco Use and Dependence Among AdultsClinical Cessation ToolsPatient Cessation MaterialsQuitlines and Other Cessation Support ResourcesClinical Education and TrainingE-Cigarettes and Patient CareState and Community Workplus iconTobacco Control Programsplus iconCessation Materials for Tobacco Control ProgramsNetworking2Save: Co-op AgreementGuidelines and ResourcesProgram FundingEvidence Based Guides for StatesState Fact SheetsTobacco Ingredient and Nicotine ReportingTobacco Counter-Marketing CampaignGlobal Tobacco Controlplus iconAbout Global Tobacco Surveillance System (GTSS)GTSSDataThe Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) AtlasHelp & Glossaryplus iconGlossaryData and DocumentationUsing the GTSSData HomepageUsing the GTSSData Explorer PageContact UsMultimedia & Toolsplus iconMedia Campaign Resource Center (MCRC)Publication Catalog To receive email updates about Smoking & Tobacco Use, enter your email address: Email Address			What's this				Submit
 Tips From Former
Smokers®
Division of Cancer
Prevention and Control
Lung Cancer
National Comprehensive
Cancer Control Program
Division of Reproductive
Health
 Facebook
Twitter
YouTube


About CDC
					Contact Us
					800-232-4636
 Facebook Twitter Instagram LinkedIn Youtube Pinterest Snapchat
 CONTACT CDC
				Contact Us
							Call 800-232-4636
							Email Us
			ABOUT CDC
				About CDC
							Jobs
							Funding
			POLICIES
				Accessibility
							External Links
							Privacy
							Policies
							No Fear Act
							FOIA
							OIG
							Nondiscrimination
							Vulnerability Disclosure Policy
			CONNECT WITH US
				Facebook
								Twitter
								Instagram
								LinkedIn
							Youtube
								Pinterest
								Snapchat
								Email
			LANGUAGES
				Español
							繁體中文
							Tiếng Việt
							한국어
							Tagalog
							Русский
							العربية
							Kreyòl Ayisyen
							Français
							Polski
							Português
							Italiano
							Deutsch
							日本語
							فارسی
							English


U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
			Accessibility
			External Links
			Privacy
			Policies
			No Fear Act
			FOIA
			Nondiscrimination
			OIG
			Vulnerability Disclosure Policy
			USA.gov


Exit Notification / Disclaimer Policy Close
 Links with this icon  indicate that you are leaving the CDC website. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal website.
				Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website.
				You will be subject to the destination website's privacy policy when you follow the link.
				CDC is not responsible for Section 508 compliance (accessibility) on other federal or private website. Website Disclaimers
 Cancel Continue